Carla Arena Ventura
University of São Paulo/Brazil
CCHR Fulbright Visiting Scholar
Prof. Ventura discussed, in the light of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights'
jurisprudence, violations of the human rights of persons with mental disorders and
their influence on Brazil's mental health legislation and policies.
Carla A. Arena Ventura, PhD, completed her Bachelors degree in International Relations at the University of Brasília (UnB), Brazil and a Bachelor’s degree in Law at the University of the State of São Paulo (UNESP), Brazil; she has an MBA from the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, received her Masters in International Law from the University of the State of São Paulo (UNESP), Brazil, and her Doctoral Degree in Administration from the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil.
Currently, she is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychiatric Nursing and Human Sciences from the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses on Human Rights and the Right to Health, Health and Development, International Health, International Mental Health and Bioethics and Nursing Legislation. She coordinates an interdisciplinary Research Group on Global Health, Law and Development (GEPESADES), leading a team of undergraduate, Master, Doctoral and Post Doctoral students. Since 2008, she is the Executive Coordinator of the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery Development, which gathers 44 WHO Collaborating Centres from the six WHO regions, and is the Deputy Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development at the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, Brazil. She is a visiting professor, teaching the International Health Course to the students of the Doctoral Program on International Health offered by the University of Panamá School of Nursing, Panamá. She is the Head of the Board of Directors of the Brazilian Research Group on Systems Sciences and in 2012 she was elected President of the IRCBP Alumni Association. She develops research on human rights, mental health and drugs; health law; international health and development; human rights education, social participation and control.